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Located (1 ) the west of Fukushima Prefecture, Aizuwakamatsu City has long thrived (2) a castle town. It’s famous for its history and rich nature. Situated (3 ) the Aizu Basin, the area has snowy winters and very hot summers. The east (4 ) the city faces Lake Inawashiro, the fourth largest lake (5 ) Japan, and rising high in the north is the majestic Bandai San (Mount Bandai).会津若松市は福島県の西に位置し、古くから城下町として発展してきました。その歴史、そして豊かな自然が有名です。会津盆地と呼ばれる盆地に位置し、冬は雪がたくさん積もり、夏は非常に暑い地域です。市の東側は日本で4番目に大きい湖、猪苗代湖に面し、北には雄大な会津磐梯山がそびえます。

When they hear the name “Aizuwakamatsu,” many Japanese will think (6) the Byakkotai (White Tiger Force), a group of teenage samurai recruited (7 ) the Aizu domain. The Byakkotai fought (8 ) the Boshin War (1868~1869) to maintain the Tokugawa Shogunate. Nineteen of the group’s members committed suicide (9 ) Iimori Hill in order to remain loyal to their masters and families whom they believed to be dead. Halfway up Iimori Hill, the graves (10 ) the 19 Byakkotai are visited by many people. This sad story is famous and there have been many TV dramas based (11 ) it.会津若松といえば、多くの日本人は白虎隊を思い出します。白虎隊は会津藩が招集した少年部隊です。1868 ～ 1869年の戊辰戦争で白虎隊は徳川将軍の体制維持のために会津で戦い、19人が忠義のために飯盛山で自害しました。飯盛山の中腹には白虎隊十九士の墓があり多くの人が訪れます。この悲しい話は有名で、よくテレビドラマの題材になります。

﻿To visit historic sites related (12) the Byakkotai and other sightseeing spots, it’s convenient to use sightseeing buses such as the “Haikara San” and “Akabei.” Running every 30 minutes, these buses stop (13) the major tourist spots in the city. A one-day pass (14) them is available for 500 yen. It’s fun to travel (15) the city on one of these colorful buses.﻿これら白虎隊の史跡などを訪れる市内観光には、周遊バス「ハイカラさん」や「あかべぇ」を利用すると便利です。30分毎に運行し、市内の主な観光スポットを回ります。一日切符は500円で買うことができます。カラフルなバスで市内を巡るのも楽しいでしょう。

The first spot to visit (16) the sightseeing bus is Tsuruga Castle in the center of town. The castle was renovated last year and its roof tiles were replaced (17) red ones similar to those used at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Now visitors can see what the castle used to look like (18) those days. Tsuruga Castle is also where many people come to see cherry blossoms when they’re (19) season.観光バスでまず行きたい場所は城下町の中心、鶴ヶ城でしょう。鶴ヶ城は昨年、幕末に使用されたものと同じ、赤瓦にリニューアルされました。訪れる人は城の当時の姿を見ることができます。また鶴ヶ城は多くの人が花見の時期に桜を見に訪れる場所です。

Every autumn, the Aizu Festival is held. The main event is the Aizu domain procession, where 500 people dressed (20) as past lords of the domain or as Tokugawa Shogunate period style samurai parade (21) the city. During this period, the whole city is energized (22) the festival which brings the history of Aizu to life.毎年秋には会津まつりが行われます。行事の目玉である会津藩公行列は歴代の会津藩主に扮した人々、幕末の侍の扮装をした人々、総勢500人が町を練り歩きます。この期間は、街全体が会津の歴史をテーマにしたお祭りでわき立ちます。

One of the charms of sightseeing around the city is to look (23) the old fashioned buildings. There remain a number of buildings (24) the Edo to Taisho periods in Aizuwakamatsu City. Constructed in a mixture of Japanese and Western styles, these buildings are used (25) restaurants, general stores and other establishments. Especially popular (26) them are unique cafés. These rows of buildings are found (27 ) Nanokamachi and Noguchi Hideyo Seishun Streets, to the south of JR Aizuwakamatsu Station. レトロな建物を見て回るのも市内観光の魅力の一つです。会津若松市内には江戸から大正時代の建物が多く残っています。日本と西洋が入り混じったスタイルの建物で、レストランや雑貨店などに利用されています。特に趣向をこらしたカフェが人気です。この街並みはJR 会津若松駅から南に進んだ、七日町通りと野口英世青春通りにあります。

Sazaedo Hall, located halfway (28 ) Iimori Hill, is recommended for those (29) an interest in unique buildings. At 16.5 meters tall, it’s a small building, but its interior structure is quite unusual. From the entrance you climb (30﻿) in a spiral along a narrow hallway that winds round (31) an angle of 270 degrees. Instead of making a U-turn (32) the top, you wind back down another hallway (33) an angle of 270 degrees. Before you know it, you arrive back at an exit next (34) the entrance.風変わりな建物を見たい人には、飯盛山の中腹にある、さざえ堂がお勧めです。高さ16.5 メートルという、とても小さな建物ですが、内部は一風変わった造りになっています。入口から、らせん状の狭い通路を一回転半上ります。そのままＵターンすることなく、一回転半下ると、いつの間にか入口の隣にある出口にたどり着くようになっています。

The Sazaedo Hall was built (35) 1796. Originally a Buddhist temple, it housed statues (36) Kannon (the Goddess of Mercy) from 33 temples in Western Japan. Just (37) entering Sazaedo Hall, visitors here were able to simulate the experience of making a pilgrimage (38) the Kannon statues at those 33 temples. The Kannon statues were removed (39) the hall in the Meiji period. As one of the very few wooden buildings (40) Japan with a double- spiral structure, in 1995 Sazaedo Hall was designated an important national cultural property.さざえ堂は1796年に建てられました。もともとは仏堂として建てられ、内部には西国三十三観音像が置かれていました。ここを訪ねる人はさざえ堂の内部を通るだけで33箇所の観音様に巡礼したことになるのです。観音像は明治時代に取り外されました。現在は全国でも珍しい木造の二重らせん構造のさざえ堂として、1995年に国の重要文化財に指定されています。

The charms of Aizuwakamatsu City lie not just with its historic buildings and quaint landscape. The food produced (41) the fertile Aizu Basin is another attractive feature of the city. Aizuwakamatsu is blessed (42) an abundance of clear groundwater; sake and soba (noodles) are made using this high-quality water. The local climate’s extremes (43) temperature have also earned the area quite a reputation.会津若松市の魅力は歴史的建造物や情緒あふれる街並みだけではありません。会津盆地がはぐくむ自然の恵みを利用した食べ物も大きな魅力です。会津若松には豊かで澄んだ地下水がもたらされています。この良質の水と寒暖の差が激しい気候を利用して作られる清酒やそばは定評があります。

Since Aizuwakamatu City is in an inland area removed (44) the ocean, a number of its traditional dishes contain dried seafood. Kozuyu is a traditional dish often served (45) festive occasions consisting of a soup made from dried scallops (46) vegetables and ofu (dried wheat gluten) added to it. In recent years, original local specialities, such as “sauce katsudon,” (a pork cutlet (47) a bed of rice topped off with a special sauce), and “curry yakisoba,” (stir-fried noodles (48) curry on top), have been gaining popularity.会津若松市は内陸にあるため、乾物を利用した伝統的な食べ物が多くあります。こづゆは、干し貝柱などで作られたスープに野菜とお麩を入れたもので、祝いの席でよく食べられる伝統食です。近年、とんかつにその店独自のソースをかけて食べるソースかつ丼、焼そばにカレーをかけて食べるカレー焼そばなど、少し変わったご当地グルメも人気があります。

It’s also a good idea to go (49) a short trip from Aizuwakamatsu City to Lake Inawashiro, which takes 30 minutes (50) the JR Banetsusai Line. Lake Inawashiro is a place where you can play various outdoor sports in summer or beauty all year around. Another popular tourist spot (51) the town of Inawashiro is a memorial hall to honor Hideyo Noguchi, a famous bacteriologist whose likeness is printed (52 ) 1,000 yen bills.会津若松市から猪苗代湖へJR 磐越西線で30分の小旅行を楽しむのもいいでしょう。猪苗代湖は夏には様々なアウトドアスポーツ、冬には白鳥を見ることができるなど、一年を通して会津の自然を満喫できる場所です。千円札に描かれていることでも有名な細菌学者、野口英世の記念館も猪苗代町にある人気の観光スポットです。

North (53) Mount Bandai stretches a plateau called ura (rear) Bandai, where Goshiki Numa (a cluster of lakes) is located. A 3.6 kilometer hiking trail (54) the area offers views of ten large and small lakes showing different colors, such as cobalt blue, red and emerald green, depending (55 ) the minerals contained within them.会津磐梯山の北には裏磐梯と呼ばれる高原が広がっていて、五色沼と呼ばれる場所があります。全長3.6 キロのハイキングコースになっており、含まれる鉱物の違いによって作られるコバルトブルー、赤やエメラルドグリーンなど大小10個の沼を見ることができます。

“The three tears of Aizu,” is an Aizu expression describing the way visitors there typically behave. This expression means: visitors to Aizu first cry (56) the difficulty of fitting in with the people there, then when they are accepted they are moved to tears (57) how compassionate the people are, and finally, they shed tears (58) sadness when they leave the city.会津には人々の特徴を表す「会津の三泣き」という言葉があります。会津に来た人は会津の人々に溶け込む難しさにまず泣き、受け入れられたときにその情の深さに泣き、最後に去るときに悲しみに涙するという意味です。

To get to Aizuwakamatsu City from Tokyo, travel (59) the Tohoku Shinkansen Line for roughly one hour and 20 minutes to JR Koriyama Station. There, transfer (60) the JR Banetsusai Line and travel for about one hour and five minutes to Aizuwakamatsu Station. An expressway bus, which takes approximately four hours and 30 minutes, is also available (61) Shinjuku.会津若松市へは東京から東北新幹線でJR郡山駅へ約1時間20分、JR郡山駅でJR磐越西線に乗り換えて約1時間5分。高速バスでは新宿から約4時間30分で行くことができます。

To rest your legs while sightseeing, you can take a coffee break (62) one of the cafés in the area participating in the “Machi Aruki Sweets” project. The idea behind the scheme is to provide special sweets (63) 500 yen each at all of these cafés. Located (64) the west of Fukushima Prefecture, Aizuwakamatsu City has long thrived as a castle town. It’s famous (65) its history and rich nature. Situated (66) the Aizu Basin, the area has snowy winters and very hot summers. The east of the city faces Lake Inawashiro, the fourth largest lake (67) Japan, and rising high in the north is the majestic Bandai San (Mount Bandai).会津若松市は福島県の西に位置し、古くから城下町として発展してきました。その歴史、そして豊かな自然が有名です。会津盆地と呼ばれる盆地に位置し、冬は雪がたくさん積もり、夏は非常に暑い地域です。市の東側は日本で4番目に大きい湖、猪苗代湖に面し、北には雄大な会津磐梯山がそびえます。